Work

Assessing the Relation Between Flexibility in Emotional Expression and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: The Roles of Context Sensitivity and Feedback Sensitivity

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Expressive flexibility (EF), the ability to enhance and suppress emotional expressions, predicts decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms years later (Bonanno, Papa, Lalande, Westphal, & Coifman, 2004). Bonanno and Burton (2013) proposed that knowing the most appropriate strategy for a situation (context sensitivity; CS), and awareness of how well strategies are working (feedback sensitivity; FS), partially explain this effect. We conducted a conditional process analysis to test this theory. One hundred thirty-eight undergraduates completed a behavioral measure of EF and self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, CS, and FS over one month. CS moderated the effect of EF on one-month changes in symptoms of anxiety and depression (p = .03): EF only predicted decreased anxiety and depression symptoms among people low in CS. FS mediated the effect of EF (95% CI: −.10, −.01) on changes in anxiety and depression symptoms: higher baseline EF was associated with higher two-week FS, which predicted decreased one-month anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest EF and CS may be compensatory skills and FS may be necessary to experience the adaptive effects of emotion regulation flexibility.

Source: Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2017.36.2.142

Authors: Matthew W. Southward, Jennifer S. Cheavens

Institution: The Ohio State University

Language: English

Topic: Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences